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Well either things aren't going to go "hot" any time soon or they got them out of the way to bring back when they wouldn't be as exposed to the PLA.

How far away is/will be the RR in Japan?
Nimitz still there until Dec. 10, plenty of time to start a war.

"...Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the cats of war..."
Razor sharpening while you wait - Occam
If it works, it doesn't have enough features. - Windows 10 design philosophy.
Forget the beer, I'm just here for the doom!
Humans, just a tool for amino acids to make Swiss watches.

No. The guided missile boats cant put out near the ordnance that a carrier can.

Depends on the ordnance and the subs. There a few converted Ohio’s that carry up to 154 Tomahawks IIRC.

"...Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the cats of war..."
Razor sharpening while you wait - Occam
If it works, it doesn't have enough features. - Windows 10 design philosophy.
Forget the beer, I'm just here for the doom!
Humans, just a tool for amino acids to make Swiss watches.

moving the carriers away while we are conducting the current big drill sends a signal to all that the drill is not really a setup for an invasion, but a last notice, before the real deal, when the carriers will be all there.

moving the carriers away while we are conducting the current big drill sends a signal to all that the drill is not really a setup for an invasion, but a last notice, before the real deal, when the carriers will be all there.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Russia’s Olympic team has been barred from the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The country’s government officials are forbidden to attend, its flag will not be displayed at the opening ceremony and its anthem will not sound.

Any athletes from Russia who receive special dispensation to compete will do so as individuals wearing a neutral uniform, and the official record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals.

That was the punishment issued Tuesday to the proud sports juggernaut that has long used the Olympics as a show of global force but was exposed for systematic doping in previously unfathomable ways. The International Olympic Committee, after completing its own prolonged investigations that reiterated what had been known for more than a year, handed Russia penalties for doping so severe they were without precedent in Olympics history.

The ruling was the final confirmation that the nation was guilty of executing an extensive state-backed doping program. The scheme was rivaled perhaps only by the notorious program conducted by East Germany throughout the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.

Now the sports world will wait to see how Russia responds. Some Russian officials have threatened to boycott if the I.O.C. delivered such a severe punishment.

President Vladimir V. Putin seemed to be predicting a boycott of the Pyeongchang Games, since his foreign policy in recent years has been based on the premise that he has rescued Russia from the humiliation inflicted on it by the West after the collapse of the Soviet Union. His spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, has said no boycott was under discussion before the announcement, however, and the news broke late in the evening in Moscow when an immediate official reaction was unlikely.
Continue reading the main story

In barring Russia’s team, Olympic officials left the door open for some Russian athletes. Those with histories of rigorous drug testing may petition for permission to compete in neutral uniforms. Although it is unknown exactly how many will clear that bar, it is certain that the contingent from Russia will be depleted significantly. Entire sports — such as biathlon and cross-country skiing, in which Russia has excelled and in which its drug violations have been many — could be wiped out completely.

Thomas Bach, president of I.O.C., has said he was perturbed not only by Russia’s widespread cheating but by how it had been accomplished: by corrupting the Olympic laboratory that handled drug testing at the Games, and on orders from Russia’s own Olympic officials.

In an elaborate overnight operation at the 2014 Sochi Games, a team assembled by Russia’s sports ministry tampered with more than 100 urine samples to conceal evidence of top athletes’ steroid use throughout the course of competition. More than two dozen Russian athletes have been disqualified from the Sochi standings as a result, and Olympic officials are still sorting through the tainted results and rescinding medals.

At the coming Games, Mr. Bach said Tuesday, a special medal ceremony will reassign medals to retroactive winners from Sochi. But, in light of legal appeals from many of the Russian athletes who have been disqualified by the I.O.C., it is uncertain if all results from Sochi will be finalized in time.

The Russian Olympic Committee was also fined $15 million on Tuesday.

The punishment announced Tuesday resembles what antidoping regulators had lobbied for leading up to the 2016 Summer Games, where Russia was allowed to participate but in restricted numbers. It is likely to face a legal appeal from Russia’s Olympic Committee.

The decision was announced after top International Olympic Committee officials had met privately with Alexander Zhukov, the president of Russia’s Olympic Committee; Vitaly Smirnov, Russia’s former sports minister who was last year appointed Mr. Putin to lead a national antidoping commission to redeem Russia’s standing in global sports; and Evgenia Medvedeva, a two-time world skating champion.

“Everyone is talking about how to punish Russia, but no one is talking about how to help Russia,” Mr. Smirnov said, sipping a hot beverage in the lobby of the Lausanne Palace Hotel before delivering his final appeal to officials that afternoon. “Of course we want our athletes there, and we want the Russian flag and anthem,” he said.

But that appeal was rejected in light of the conclusions of Samuel Schmid, a former president of Switzerland whom the Olympic committee appointed last year to review the findings of a scathing investigation commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

“The analysis is clear and water-tight,” Mr. Schmid said.

Tuesday’s penalty was in line with what had been advocated by two key whistle-blowers whose accounts upended Russia’s standing in global sports over the last several years: Grigory Rodchenkov, the chemist who spent 10 years as Russia’s antidoping lab chief and was key to carrying out the cheating schemes in Sochi; and Vitaly Stepanov, a former employee of Russia’s antidoping agency who married a runner for Russia’s national team and was the first to speak publicly about the nation’s institutionalized cheating.

“The world knows that hundreds of Olympic dreams have been stolen by the doping system in the country where I was born,” Mr. Stepanov wrote in an affidavit submitted to the International Olympic Committee this fall. He had suggested banning Russia’s Olympic Committee for two years, or until the nation’s antidoping operations are recertified by regulators. Russia and its individual athletes are all but certain to miss the 2018 Paralympics given regulators’ refusal to recertify the nation last month.

“The evidence is clear, that the doping system in Russia has not yet been truly reformed,” Mr. Stepanov wrote.

Dr. Rodchenkov is living at an undisclosed location in the United States under protection of federal authorities. In August, “Icarus,” a film detailing Dr. Rodchenkov’s move to the United States and tell-all account, was released.

Tuesday’s decision may have major consequences for another major sports event, next year’s $11 billion soccer World Cup in Russia. The nation’s deputy prime minister, Vitaly Mutko, was Russia’s top sports official during the 2014 Sochi Games and was directly implicated by Dr. Rodchenkov. As part of Tuesday’s ruling, Mr. Mutko was barred for life from the Olympics.

moving the carriers away while we are conducting the current big drill sends a signal to all that the drill is not really a setup for an invasion, but a last notice, before the real deal, when the carriers will be all there.

so we can breath easy for a while, barring any stupid moves by Kim

Yeah, that makes sense....

As to "stupid moves" on Kim's part, well it's all in the eye of the beholder until "the mushrooms grow"...

"...Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the cats of war..."
Razor sharpening while you wait - Occam
If it works, it doesn't have enough features. - Windows 10 design philosophy.
Forget the beer, I'm just here for the doom!
Humans, just a tool for amino acids to make Swiss watches.

MountainMan, I still think an actual shooting war on the Korean Peninsula is the LEAST LIKELY THING TO HAPPEN. However, now that both Russia and China are not only deploying combat forces to their borders with North Korea, and engaging in military drills, and making blunt statements they regard a new Korean war as increasing in chance, well I can't discount that. Further, we just don't know how Kim Jong will react to what he sees as further US provocations, as in the new drill involving over 230 planes, and 12,000 troops. Finally, the diplomatic pressure from both Russia and China to the USA is increasing in both amount and intensity.

I think the odds of a US first strike are minimal. I think the odds of Japan, or South Korea attacking North Korea are minimal. I think the odds of North Korea attacking any of the three above are also minimal, UNLESS KIM FEELS A DIRECT THREAT, IE REGIME CHANGE IS IMMINENT.

Trump sending in those troops and planes is viewed by Russia, China and North Korea as a provocation. There is some hopeful news that Russia is trying to get Jong to back off/down and China is supporting that. My personal opinion is unless the neo cons, like Graham and McCain, McMasters and the globalists can jump start a war with North Korea, we are going to dodge the bullet, literally. On the other hand, we are rolling the dice here on so many levels. Assuming the new UN sanctions really bite North Korea, we may see a repeat of the July 1942 sanctions on Japan that directly led to Pearl Harbor.

So, MountainMan, I think the total result of all that is no immediate war, with an increasing chance of war as the UN sanctions bite, unless Russia and China can get Jong under control. I will also add none of the above will be relevant if Kim Jong either does another test of an ICBM capable of hitting DC, or does a nuclear warhead test, or starts shelling a South Korean island like he has done in the past. We are on the edge here. We have not gone over the abyss, nor are we likely to go over the edge unless some major screw ups happen.

It is likely the combat reloads for our ships etc don't exist. I understand each Tommyhawk costs 1 million dollars each. Obama cut our military to the bone, maybe even sucked out the bone marrow, so I highly doubt we could combat load all our navy ships, then combat load them even two or three times after that. I did see somewhere the US Navy doesn't have enough ships to train the US Marines. Since that is the case, I'm thinking, assuming all the ships we sent to Korea are actually fully combat loaded, we have no reserves. One of the reasons Jong may be so insolent is he thinks we have no reload ability after we shoot the first wave at him.

That is not the impression I get from what I read. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crui...sile_submarine
It appears they use 22 tubes that used to contain ICBMs, 7 Tomahawks in a canister to replace each ICBM. I doubt if they have room on the sub for all those extra missiles, nor do I think they have the mechanisms to refill those canisters at sea.
I could be wrong, but I have seen no mention of reload capability.

“From 2002 to 2008, the U.S. Navy modified the four oldest Ohio-class submarines: USS Ohio, Michigan, Florida, and Georgia into SSGNs. The conversion was achieved by installing vertical launching systems (VLS) in a multiple all-up-round canister (MAC) configuration in 22 of the 24 missile tubes, replacing one Trident missile with 7 smaller Tomahawk cruise missiles. The 2 remaining tubes were converted to lockout chambers for use by special forces personnel. This gave each converted submarine the capability to carry up to 154 Tomahawks.”

"...Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the cats of war..."
Razor sharpening while you wait - Occam
If it works, it doesn't have enough features. - Windows 10 design philosophy.
Forget the beer, I'm just here for the doom!
Humans, just a tool for amino acids to make Swiss watches.

It is likely the combat reloads for our ships etc don't exist. I understand each Tommyhawk costs 1 million dollars each. Obama cut our military to the bone, maybe even sucked out the bone marrow, so I highly doubt we could combat load all our navy ships, then combat load them even two or three times after that. I did see somewhere the US Navy doesn't have enough ships to train the US Marines. Since that is the case, I'm thinking, assuming all the ships we sent to Korea are actually fully combat loaded, we have no reserves. One of the reasons Jong may be so insolent is he thinks we have no reload ability after we shoot the first wave at him.

Obama's damage to the US Military will take a decade to repair.

THis is likely true. IIRC Raytheon produced about 3000 of the latest ones since 2004 but the Pentagon was going to stop buying for a while to have its existing stock gone through and repaired/upgraded. So of all 4 SSGNs are loaded to max capacity that is 616 missiles. The last flight of LA class subs and all VA class each has 12 VLS tubes. I think that is about 40 boats total so another 480 missiles. Additionally they can be fired out of the torpedo tubes of earlier flight boats as well as the Seawolf class. I don't know the spec for any of the surface craft but I imagine they must have the capacity for at least that many. Not much for reloads at all.

Seoul looks to bolster defence against Pyongyang with weaponised drones

South Korea will create a weaponised drone unit to swarm North Korea in the event of a conflict as Seoul seeks to bolster its military capabilities against its*nuclear-armed neighbour.

Operated by the army, the unit will primarily engage in reconnaissance missions to survey developments at the North’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile sites, but could in future be used to launch swarm attacks, according to people familiar with the matter.

The establishment of the army unit follows calls from western officials and analysts for South Korea to improve its advanced surveillance technology.

It also comes amid growing concerns that the rapid advancement of Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes has effectively changed the*balance of power in the region.

On Tuesday, William Perry, a US defence secretary in the Clinton administration, told a forum it would be “preferable” for South Korea and Japan to develop their own nuclear force — an option that the US has been historically reluctant to support.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has rejected calls to deploy or develop nuclear weapons. However, he is facing growing pressure from members of the conservative establishment, who view a balance of nuclear power between the two Koreas as the only way to maintain peace on the peninsula.

Instead, Seoul is pursuing the establishment of the drone unit that is likely to be modelled on the one created by Israel in 2010.

“South Korea’s army plans to create a drone-bot combat unit in 2018 and set up a professional combat team to operate it,” an official at the Ministry of Defence confirmed.

Drones have featured in conflicts worldwide for more than a decade. However, new developments in artificial intelligence mean drones will increasingly be able to communicate movements with each other, effectively forming swarms.

“South Korea has reached a level of consensus on swarm technology, but adoption will take a while,” said a person familiar with the military developments.*“The army is facing [political] pressure to reduce its forces, so it has to come up with new ideas.”*

The technology is already being pursued in China, where some believe the country should adopt an*“asymmetric” drone strategy rather than attempt to close the gap in traditional capabilities with the US.

Experts say such the technology could have lethal and non-lethal capabilities. In the case of the latter, a swarm of thousands of cheaply-made but connected drones could prevent area access by clustering around and blocking ships or aircraft.

“Some of us in the field proposed the Republic of Korea military should take advantage of this superiority against North Korea,” said Bong Young-shik, an expert on North Korean military developments at Yonsei University.*

“Although it is unlikely, if the South Korean military wants, these drones can carry bombs as the nation is no longer bound by payload limits,” he added, referring to a decision by the Trump administration earlier this year to lift limits on South Korean munitions.

On Wednesday, Seoul said it would increase its annual military budget by 7 per cent next year — its biggest jump since 2009 — as a result of the “grim security reality”.

Mr Moon is overseeing a reform of the nation’s armed forces that is focusing on reducing troop numbers and improving technology.

In June, North Korea launched a drone into the south to survey the deployment of the US-operated Terminal High Altitude Area Defence missile shield, better known as Thaad.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The official state-run newspaper in northeastern China’s Jilin city, near the border with North Korea, on Wednesday published a page of “common sense” advice on how readers can protect themselves from a nuclear weapons attack or explosion.

China has voiced grave concern over North Korea’s nuclear and missiles programme, as well as calling on the United States and South Korea to stop provoking Pyongyang.

U.S. bombers will fly over the Korean peninsula on Wednesday as part of a large-scale joint military drills with South Korea. The North has warned the drills would push the Korean Peninsula to the “brink of war”.

The full page article in the Jilin Daily, which does not mention possible attacks by North Korea or any other country, explains how nuclear weapons differ from traditional arms and instructs people how to protect themselves in the event of an attack.

Nuclear weapons have five means of causing destruction: light radiation, blast waves, early-stage nuclear radiation, nuclear electro-magnetic pulses and radioactive pollution, the article explained. It said the first four kill instantly.

People who find themselves outside during a nuclear attack should try to lie in a ditch, cover exposed skin in light coloured clothing or dive into a river or lake to try and minimise the possibility of instantaneous death, it said.

Cartoon illustrations of ways to dispel radioactive contamination were also provided, such as using water to wash off shoes and using cotton buds to clean ears, as well as a picture of a vomiting child to show how medical help can be sought to speed the expulsion of radiation through stomach pumping and induced urination.

The paper also provided historical context, saying that when the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, light radiation and the blast wave caused fires and storm winds that destroyed 81 percent of buildings in the city, killing over 70,000 people.

North Korea last week tested what it called its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could reach all of the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned he would destroy the North Korean regime if it threatened the United States with nuclear weapons.

China has rejected military intervention and called for an end to the war of words between Washington and Pyongyang.

Beijing fears an outbreak of conflict or a chaotic collapse of the North Korean regime, which might see fighting or waves of refugees cross the 1,400 km (870 miles) border into China.

It is likely the combat reloads for our ships etc don't exist. I understand each Tommyhawk costs 1 million dollars each. Obama cut our military to the bone, maybe even sucked out the bone marrow, so I highly doubt we could combat load all our navy ships, then combat load them even two or three times after that. I did see somewhere the US Navy doesn't have enough ships to train the US Marines. Since that is the case, I'm thinking, assuming all the ships we sent to Korea are actually fully combat loaded, we have no reserves. One of the reasons Jong may be so insolent is he thinks we have no reload ability after we shoot the first wave at him.

Obama's damage to the US Military will take a decade to repair.

With the military stretched so thin. If a war breaks out in and around Korea. The US will have no choice but too institute a draft. Heck, we are so short of personal at the moment, we could use a draft now.
With a future war with China, the US should also consider following Israel's system of mandatory 2 year enlistment.

North Korea warns war on the Korean peninsula is an established fact due to U.S. threats.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-UnNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-UnReuters

North Korea’s foreign ministry declared on Wednesday night that the outbreak of war on the Korean peninsula was “an established fact”, Reuters reports.

The ministry cited large military drills being carried out by the United States and South Korea and U.S. threats of a preemptive war against Pyongyang.

A spokesman for the North’s foreign ministry also blamed “confrontational warmongering” remarks by U.S. officials for pushing the peninsula to the brink of war.

“The remaining question now is: when will the war break out?” the spokesman said in a statement carried by North Korea’s official KCNA news agency.

“We do not wish for a war but shall not hide from it,” he said.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen markedly in recent months after North Korea’s latest missile and nuclear tests, conducted in defiance of international pressure and United Nations resolutions.

Last week, North Korea launched a Hwasong-15 missile, a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which officials said can fly over 13,000 km (8,080 miles).

Pyongyang said following the launch that it had test-fired its most advanced missile, putting the U.S. mainland within range.

The isolated country also declared itself to be "a responsible nuclear power" and said its nuclear weapons were developed in order to provide protection from "the U.S. imperialists’ nuclear blackmail policy and nuclear threat."

White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster said on the weekend the possibility of war with North Korea was “increasing every day”.

On Wednesday, a U.S. B-1B bomber joined the joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which are called “Vigilant Ace” and will run until Friday.

North Korea, which regularly threatens South Korea, the United States and their allies, has denounced the exercises.

“Recently, as the U.S. is conducting the largest-ever joint aerial drill on the Korean peninsula targeting the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, its high-level politicians are showing alarming signs by making bellicose remarks one after another,” the North’s foreign ministry spokesman said, according to Reuters.

“These confrontational war-mongering remarks cannot be interpreted in any other way but as a warning to us to be prepared for a war on the Korean peninsula,” he warned.

The price of fuel in North Korea has plummeted over the past month thanks to Russian oil imports, according to reports that suggest Russia is ignoring international efforts to isolate the rogue North Korean regime.

Journalists with the website Asia Press International, which is based in Osaka, Japan, and publishes in English, Japanese and Korean, reportedly said that fuel prices began to fall in November. The reports claimed that the price of diesel had fallen by 60 percent since early November, and the price of gasoline fell by around 25 percent.

The alleged decline in price comes despite U.S. pressure and United Nations Security Council resolutions aimed specifically at cutting off fuel to Kim Jong Un’s regime.

The citizen journalists allegedly claimed that “massive amounts” of fuel are being imported through North Korea’s Ryanggang province from Russia. The province, however, borders China.

It is difficult to substantiate claims coming out of North Korea, a closed regime where information rarely leaks. But experts on the region say Russia and China both have a history of doing business with North Korea.

“There are a lot of trade channels that exist between China and North Korea, some licit and some illicit, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Russia were taking advantage of those,” Lisa Collins, an expert on the Koreas at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Newsweek.

“We do know that Russia has given North Korea some oil in the past, and I believe that there were some reports that North Korea was using ships to get around the Security Council sanctions that would hide the origin of the oil.”

In September, Reuters and the Washington Post both reported that Russia was helping North Korea avoid U.S. sanctions and providing the country with fuel.

On September 11, the Security Council unanimously passed a resolution banning exports of condensates and natural gas liquids to North Korea and capping the annual supply of refined petroleum products at two million barrels per year. The price of fuel had reportedly skyrocketed in North Korea following the implementation of sanctions in September.

Given the limited scope of the resolution, however, Russia is legally permitted to sell some oil to North Korea.

“It is no secret that Russia supplies North Korea with oil. In fact, Russia is perfectly entitled to do so,” James Brown, a Russia and Japan expert focusing on energy politics at Temple University, told Newsweek. “This is because Russia ensured that no cuts to crude oil supplies were mandated in the sanctions adopted on 11 September.”

Providing North Korea with oil could be Russia’s way of rejecting the U.S. approach to pressuring North Korea, Brown added.

“The Russian authorities are also generally against the US's policy of maximum pressure on North Korea, believing that the policy has caused Pyongyang to accelerate their nuclear and missile program,” he explained. “Instead of further sanctions, Moscow favors immediate dialogue with North Korea.”

On Tuesday, Russian state media reported that the Kremlin is ready to take a lead role in pressuring Pyongyang.

Here's the game. Back away from the field and let lil Kim cool down. As days turn into weeks, Kim gets complacent. They will be watching from the sky. When they nail down an easy sure kill, they will hit him. The war is not against the north Korean people. They are starving to death under a psychotic narcissist. Take out the the head when all has settled down and maybe they won't need to blow $20billion on killing artillery and rockets aimed at S Korea. The attack must come by surprise. There is no surprise now with everyone on max guard.

Even if they manage to nail KJU, there are probably deadman triggers in the DPRK command structure that would set off everything anyway. How would the Nork military know that a decapitation strike wouldn't be followed up by a more general offensive? They'd be pressured to use it or lose it.

Almost 50 countries are violating international sanctions against North Korea at a time when the U.S. is trying to isolate the rogue regime of Kim Jong Un, according to a new report by the Institute For Science And International Security.

The United Nations Security Council has*imposed sanctions*against*North Korea*in recent years in order to apply pressure on the hermit kingdom to abandon the development of its nuclear weapons program. But the North Korean regime has become adept at avoiding sanctions and finding countries that are willing to do business with it, the report notes.

“In its efforts to further its nuclear, missile*and conventional military programs, North Korea seeks to undermine international sanctions and the export control laws of other countries. It has long attempted to find sympathetic governments or countries with weak or nonexistent export controls that will supply these programs or be more conducive to military and commercial cooperation,” the report’s authors write.

“North Korea also targets states that are otherwise strong enforcers of export controls and uses deceptive methods, such as front companies or actors to bypass these countries’ export control laws.”

Bellicose rhetoric between President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong UN has reached a fever pitch in recent months, especially as North Korea flexed its military muscles and demonstrated that it has an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching anywhere in the United States.

In response, new sanctions were levied against North Korea’s fuel and textile sectors in September. U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, also has called on all countries to “cut off trade with the regime by stopping all imports and exports,” and expelling all North Korean workers.

But Tuesday’s report shows that there are still many countries willing to do business with North Korea.

At least 13 governments were discovered to have violated sanctions against North Korea in military-related cases, including exporting military equipment to North Korea. Angola, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Uganda were just some of the countries included on the list.*

Nineteen countries also were involved in non-military cases of sanctions violations that involved doing business with North Korea or facilitating financial transactions. European countries such as Bulgaria, Germany, Poland*and Romania were included in this list, as was Russia.

Meanwhile, eighteen countries, including large economies like India and China, imported sanctioned goods and minerals from North Korea. This large volume of business show how quickly the North Korean regime manages to develop new and sophisticated ways to thwart the sanctions, experts say.

“North Korea's overseas trading networks have developed sophisticated methods for sanctions evasion, often relying on foreign front companies or operating in jurisdictions with weak export control or anti-money laundering laws. Additionally, in past years many countries have lacked either the interest or the technical capacity to fully comply with UN sanctions, leading to uneven enforcement at a global level,” Daniel Wertz, associate director of the National Committee on North Korea, told Newsweek.

“The U.S. has recently put more diplomatic pressure on countries to fully comply with UN Security Council resolutions, and has been increasingly willing to implement unilateral sanctions on third-country entities that have facilitated North Korean sanctions violations,” Wertz continued. “This may lead to greater international compliance with the UN sanctions regime, but I think it is very likely that North Korea's overseas networks are now making their best effort to adapt to the changed circumstances, and to figure out new or alternative ways to evade sanctions.”

For now, it appears there is not much the international community can do except lobby countries to comply with sanctions.

“It’s difficult enough to get all members to sign onto the sanctions, but getting them to implement the sanctions is even more complicated,” Mark Goldberg, an expert on the United Nations, told Newsweek.

“In theory they are all obligated by international law to enforce the sanctions. It’s up to the U.S. to press countries bilaterally to live up to their international obligations."

The Tokyo Shinbun reported that NK has already completed ５ prototype models of Pukkuksong-3 SLBM.PK-3 became slimmer than the previous type, because loaded more than two in the submarine.Also reported that performance has improved. #NorthKorea

Most likely no. All their tests to date have failed and it was reported that one test damaged their one sub capable of launching a missile. However they are currently building at least 2 larger subs capable of missile launch and are reportedly almost done a second test barge to continue SLBM development. All three boats have 1 or two tubes that run up through the sail similar to the old Soviet Golfs. THey are not like our boats that carry multiple missiles with MIRV capability.

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